Written piece
Threads of Unity
MATOKEO MPAPI
Tanzania
About this piece
Original
Nyuzi za Umoja
Ninatoka Tanzania, nikiwa na uzi uliofumwa kwa maumivu na matumaini. Maisha yangu yamejaa ubaguzi wa kiuchumi na vitisho vya usalama, kwa sababu tu ya mimi kuwa mtu wa jinsia tofauti (transgender).
Lakini uzi huu si wangu peke yangu. Ni wa kila binadamu aliyenya
English translation
Threads of Unity
I come from Tanzania, carrying a thread stitched with pain and hope. My life has been marked by economic discrimination and threats to my safety, simply because of who I am—a transgender person.
This thread is not just mine. It belongs to every human being who has been silenced, excluded, or made invisible. It carries the voices of those who walk with fear, yet still dream of freedom. It carries the weight of injustice, but also the strength of resilience.
To the world, I say: see us. Hear us. We are more than the labels placed upon us. We are more than the prejudice that tries to unravel us. We are threads of humanity, woven into the same fabric of belonging.
In this Quilt, my thread is a plea and a promise: a plea for compassion, dignity, and equality; a promise that even in suffering, we will continue to weave our stories into the tapestry of the Commonwealth.
Threads of Unity remind us that no matter where we come from, our humanity binds us together.
Threads of Unity
English translation
Threads of Unity
I come from Tanzania, carrying a thread stitched with pain and hope. My life has been marked by economic discrimination and threats to my safety, simply because of who I am—a transgender person.
This thread is not just mine. It belongs to every human being who has been silenced, excluded, or made invisible. It carries the voices of those who walk with fear, yet still dream of freedom. It carries the weight of injustice, but also the strength of resilience.
To the world, I say: see us. Hear us. We are more than the labels placed upon us. We are more than the prejudice that tries to unravel us. We are threads of humanity, woven into the same fabric of belonging.
In this Quilt, my thread is a plea and a promise: a plea for compassion, dignity, and equality; a promise that even in suffering, we will continue to weave our stories into the tapestry of the Commonwealth.
Threads of Unity remind us that no matter where we come from, our humanity binds us together.